Jongen bestuurt een poppenkoets op een geit 1914

Nelly Spoor’s ‘Boy Controls a Puppet Carriage on a Goat’ looks like it was rendered with pen and ink, and watercolor washes. Imagine the artist in her studio, carefully drafting the outlines of the figures and the whimsical scene with a fine-tipped pen. I wonder if she ever felt like she was wrangling a herd of goats to get the lines just right? The red accents throughout the piece – the hats, the carriage wheels – pop against the muted background. There’s a charming naivety to the drawing, like something from a children’s book. Spoor’s light, airy lines remind me of folk art traditions where storytelling and simple pleasures are valued. Looking at the composition, the arrangement of figures creates a sense of movement, as if the procession is about to spill out of the frame. You see this in children's book illustrations that attempt to capture the spontaneity of childhood. It’s a reminder that we're all building on each other's ideas, playing with forms and styles across generations.